Philadelphia's PCC Streetcars

In the late 1970s, Philadelphia's fleet of PCC cars was the second largest
in the western hemisphere, with 300 PCC trolleys remaining -- only Toronto Ontario
had more trolleys. Philadelphia's fleet was comprised of two main classes: 102
prewar "air cars" built between 1940
and 1942, and 198 postwar "all-electrics"
built in 1946 - 1948.

The streetcars operated from three depots over twelve routes, spread over
most of the city. Five car lines ran on city streets and through a trolley subway
under University City and Center City; the remaining seven ran entirely in city
streets in traditional streetcar fashion.

Today, the five routes that operate through the Subway Surface tunnel and in
southwest Philadelphia are equipped with Japanese-built Light Rail Vehicles.
Of the six North Philadelphia lines, only one, the Route 15 Girard Avenue, has
been restored to streetcar service.

Until 1992, rebuilt postwar PCCs remained in revenue service on three lines,
the 15, 23, and 56. PCC cars on these last three lines were "temporarily" replaced
by diesel buses in September of that year, with most of the PCCs sold to transit
operations and museums all over the country. The tracks and wires remain in
place however, with both City Council and the mayor's office opposed to their
removal (see City Council hearing article). SEPTA has restored service on
Route 15, but has no plans to bring trolleys back to Routes 23 and 56. Portions
of both Route 23 and Route 56 have been paved over.

Here's the time-line, in summary:

September 1992: Routes 15, 23, and 56 become "temporary"
diesel bus lines. Most of the PCCs are sold.

December 1995: SEPTA ends "Welcome Line" trolley service,
which connected Center City with the Philadelphia Zoo.

June 1996: SEPTA discontinues"Chestnut Hill Trolley"
weekend-only service on the northern end of Route 23.

September 1997: SEPTA announces plans to re-instate trolley
service on the suspended Route 15.

November 2001: The SEPTA board votes to approve the remanufacture
of 18 to 26 postwar PCCs for Route 15 service.

2008: PennDOT built new Route 23 tracks and wires in Mt. Airy, while at the same time SEPTA removes rail on Route 23 in South Philadelphia.

During the late 1990s, between Thanksgiving and New Years,
SEPTA operated three PCC cars through Center City and South Philadelphia over
the idled Route 23 rails. Called the "Holiday Trolley," the PCCs operated
four days a week on a twenty-minute headway, with some trips extending as far
south as Snyder Avenue.

During the 2001 holiday season, with Center City inaccessible
due to track reconstruction on Girard Avenue, SEPTA operated the Holiday Trolley
in University City. Two PCC cars ran over the diversion tracks from 40th and
Market Street to 49th and Woodland Avenue. The PCCs were run every 20 minutes
from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays until December 23.

SEPTA's recent removal of rail at 12th & Bainbridge Streets takes away any chance of
trolley operation through Center City for the foreseeable future.

It was hard to believe that there was much
of a future for Philadelphia's PCCs in 1977 when this slide was made
of PCC 2799 inside Woodland Depot. The car was thirty years old then,
and a decade of deferred maintenance was really showing.

Finally overhauled in 1985, it was later repainted in an unlikely
livery: that of the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company,
or Red Arrow Lines. In the photo at right, PCC 2799 turns onto Bainbridge
Street from 12th St. in December 1996. The Holiday Trolley
line had been re-activated for the month of December, budget courtesy
of the Center City District. The diesel bus that replaced the Route
23 trolley is visible behind the turning streetcar.

Route 50, running from far South Philly,
past Independence Hall, to the Northeast, was another marathon trolley
route, much like the Route 23. In this 1979 view 1947 PCC 2728 runs
eastbound on Wyoming Avenue at 3rd St. The tracks to the left lead to
the Courtland Shops.

In the 1990's, PCC 2728 was repainted in the 1938-40 silver and blue
livery that had been originally applied to Philadelphia's first prewar
PCCs. Here it is seen turning from Noble Street to 12th during the
December 1996 revival of the Center City Welcome Line, aka the Holiday
Trolley.

PCC 2732 was one of one hundred trolleys
ordered by the Philadelphia Transportation Company in July 1944 to displace
ancient Near-side cars on the Route 23. It would take three years for
St. Louis Car Company to fill the order. By that time, "only" 85 cars
were sufficient for Route 23. In later years, 2700 series cars could
be found all over the system, including at Callowhill Depot and here
at Woodland.

Fortunately, this trolley survives to this day, and has been repainted
into the classic PTC green and cream with maroon trim. PCC 2732 rounds
the corner at 12th and Noble during the (nearly) perennial return
of trolleys to 11th and 12th Streets, in the form of "Holiday Trolleys."

Here's PCC 2785 derailed on the 49th Street overpass in
winter of 1981. Its right side was caved in after bouncing off a line pole.
Fortunately, nothing was coming the other way (see how far the front of
the car swung into oncoming traffic.) Two forklifts were brought from nearby
Woodland Depot in an attempt to re-rail the trolley. (It didn't even budge.)
Despite the crash damage, the PCC was not scrapped: in 1986 it was rebuilt
at Woodland Shops as part of the PCC General OverHaul program. In 1992,
it was selected to be repainted in PTC green and cream for service on the
Chestnut Hill Trolley. It's seen here at Germantown Depot two weeks before
the end of service.

For a beautiful shot of this very same trolley
in 1968, follow this link to Davesrailpix.
The photo appears to be of PCC 2785 occupying the short siding on Spring
Garden St. at 11th.
( Notice how sharp the cars looked when the edges of the windshields
were still stainless steel. )